How To Plan A Pirate Party

I’ve had some people ask me if I also dress up like a pirate. I do, but only on special occasions. Like International Talk Like A Pirate Day in September. My friend Mark throws a Pirate Party every year, so I thought it would be fun to share some tips to plan a pirate party of your own.

How to plan a pirate party

Step 1: Pirate Invitations

Invitations should reflect a nautical theme. With online invites, there’s tons of room for creativity from ship backgrounds to pirate-y fonts. Handmade invites can range from simple & easy pre-made invitations purchased at the store to complex message-in-a-bottle invites that are hand-delivered to your guests. (Martha Stewart has a step-by-step tutorial on how to make these with free printables.)

Step 2: Pirate Decor

The good news about this step is that you don’t have to go overboard with your decor if you’re hosting a costume party. I could pirate flags and skulls are usually sufficient to set the mood. An easy and inexpensive way to add a little pirate flair to any setting is to use knotted rope to wind around columns or doorways. You can also DIY your pirate flags by using black markers to draw a skull & crossbones on old pillowcases from the thrift store.

Step 3: Pirate Grub & Grog

My friend Mark has two signature pirate appetizers I love: Pirate Boat Tacos & Shark Potstickers. The trick is to take a basic recipe and jazz it up to fit the theme. In this case, Mark takes mini taco shells, fills them with meat & cheese, and sticks a small pirate flag in them. Voila – regular tacos are now pirate tacos. For the potstickers, he uses a dolphin shark cookie cutter to shape the dough before cooking them.

Drinks are easy enough. Grab a pitcher of your favorite beverage and slap a Grog label on it. Done. A generous sprinkling of chocolate gold coins around the pitcher adds a nice touch.

Step 4: Costumes

It wouldn’t be a real pirate party without costumes. Be sure to tell your guests that costumes are required, lest they be sentenced to walk the plank.

I volunteered a few years back at St. Jude Children’s Hospital and we threw a huge pirate party at their Target House. Although this was directed toward children, many of the same themes apply. We had a huge treasure hunt for the kids, where they had to find the pieces of a treasure map hidden around the building. In the end, there was a lot of candy! It was so much fun.